Solemn events to mark JFK's assassination

Solemn events to mark JFK's assassination

1of3FILE - In this Nov. 22, 1995, file photo, people pause during a moment of silence at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Loose gatherings of the curious and conspiracy-minded have marked past anniversaries of the assassination of President Kennedy. But in the place where the president's motorcade passed through and shots rang out on Nov. 22, 1963, a solemn ceremony on the 50th anniversary of his death is designed to avoid such distractions, with brief remarks by the mayor and the tolling of church bells. (AP Photo/Tim Sharp, File)Photo: Tim Sharp, STR

3of3FILE - In this Nov. 22, 2008, file photo, an observer takes a picture with his cell phone from behind the wooden fence on top of the grassy knoll at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, at the 45th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Loose gatherings of the curious and conspiracy-minded have marked past anniversaries of the assassination of President Kennedy. But in the place where the president's motorcade passed through and shots rang out on Nov. 22, 1963, a solemn ceremony on the 50th anniversary of his death is designed to avoid such distractions, with brief remarks by the mayor and the tolling of church bells. (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Lara Solt) **MANDATORY CREDIT, NO SALES, MAGS OUT, TV OUT, INTERNET OUT, AP MEMBERS ONLY**Photo: Lara Solt, MBR

DALLAS - Loose gatherings of the curious and conspiracy-minded at Dallas' Dealey Plaza have marked past anniversaries of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, featuring everything from makeshift memorials to marching drummers to discussions about who else might have been in on the killing.

But in the place where the president's motorcade passed through and shots rang out on Nov. 22, 1963, a solemn ceremony on the 50th anniversary of his death designed to avoid such distractions will include brief remarks by the mayor and the tolling of church bells.

It's an approach that will be mirrored Friday in Boston, where the JFK Library and Museum will open a small exhibit of never-before-displayed items from Kennedy's state funeral and host a musical tribute that will be closed to the public, and in Washington, where President Barack Obama will meet privately at the White House with leaders and volunteers from the Kennedy-established Peace Corps program.

In Dealey Plaza

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Flags to be at half-staff

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is ordering that flags be lowered at government buildings Friday to mark the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

In a presidential proclamation released Thursday, Obama says the anniversary is a day to honor Kennedy's memory and "celebrate his enduring imprint on American history." Obama says Kennedy's vision for the U.S. and the world lives "in the generations he inspired."

Earlier in the week, Obama visited Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery. On Friday, Obama will meet with representatives from the Peace Corps, which Kennedy established.

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The committee convened by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to plan the city's event wanted to focus "in a positive way more on the legacy of President Kennedy," said Ron Kirk, a former mayor and member of the panel.

About 5,000 tickets were issued for the free ceremony in Dealey Plaza, which is flanked by the Texas School Book Depository building where sniper Lee Harvey Oswald perched on the sixth floor in 1963.

Friday's event will include readings from the president's speeches by author David McCullough. In a nod to Kennedy's military service, the U.S. Naval Academy Men's Glee Club will sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and there will be an Air Force flyover. A moment of silence will be held at 12:30 p.m., when the president was shot.

There was no shortage of events in Dallas this year marking the anniversary, including panels with journalists and others who witnessed the events of the day, special concerts and museum exhibits.

1963 recollections

As press aide for Texas Gov. John Connally, Julian Read was in a media bus several vehicles behind the presidential limousine. After the gunshots, he watched as the vehicle carrying the president and wounded governor sped away. Read released a book this year recounting his experience and has attended several of the events, which he called cathartic.

"Even though there are all those melancholy thoughts, the way it's shaping up ... gives me more of a comfort than any time since 1963," said Read, who will return to Dealey Plaza on Friday.

John Judge, executive director of the Coalition on Political Assassinations, first came to Dealey Plaza to mark the fifth anniversary of JFK's death in 1968.

Conspiracy gathering

Judge's group, which believes Kennedy's death was part of a conspiracy, usually gathers on the plaza's "grassy knoll" for a moment of silence at 12:30 p.m. Since it'll be blocked off this year, Judge says he's reached a "livable" agreement with the city in which they'll gather a few blocks away and move to the plaza after the official ceremony ends.

The group has made T-shirts for the occasion with the slogan, "50 years in denial is enough" and an image like that of Kennedy on the half-dollar coin, except with a bullet hole in his head and blood.

"It was meant to be shocking because we think that not solving his murder was shocking," Judge said. He added about 10 members of his group will attend the official ceremony.

Other events being held Friday in Dallas include a ceremony at Parkland Memorial Hospital, where Kennedy was declared dead, to lower the U.S. flag to half-staff.

In Fort Worth, the city's Chamber of Commerce will host a breakfast at the hotel where Kennedy gave his last speech and spent the last night of his life.